OtterPops: Finishing Up Summer

It's only been 4 months since I last posted-woops! Time seems to fly by!! But I will try my best to re-cap our adventures without boring anyone too horribly. In August we were lucky to have my sister and her family stop by for dinner and a quick visit as they were on their way back to CA from fixing up their rental in Northern Utah. The kids were able to make s'mores and have a glowstick party in the backyard while us adults were able to visit inside.

Visit from the Tituses

We also had my mom come into town for a couple weeks to finish out our summer. She took us to see Pete's Dragon and out to dinner at Zupa's. We took her to Ashton Gardens where she rented a golf cart for all of us to drive around in. We had perfect weather, hardly anybody else at the garden, and the kids LOVED driving the golf cart which made for a really fun day. She helped with preparation for Lillian's baptism and was able to meet up with her old roommate a couple times and go out with her cousin a couple times. Overall, we had a lovely time and we all cried (especially me) when we had to drop her off at the airport.

Out to Zupa's with Nana

At the movie theater to see Pete's Dragon

Riding in Style!

Feeding the Fish at Ashton Gardens

Nana with the kids. Ashton Gardens

Pat and her old roommate Linda

Taking Nana to the Airport

Pretty much the only sport Jared really watches on TV and gets really into is The Olympics. He and all of his family love them all, but especially the Summer Olympics. Greg and Maren hosted the "Olympic Opening Ceremony" party at their house and between the cousin "Olympic Torch" relay and the international food it was a hit! Here Emma and Finnley are holding the treats that Jocelyn made for the occasion-patriotic cake pops. We also made some "torches" out of cheetos and ice cream cones (as you can see, we were going for quality! ha). We all had fun watching the gymnastics and swimming, especially, over the next couple weeks.

Emma and Finnley enjoying Jocelyn's patriotic treat pops

Olympic "torches"

At the Olympic Party

We also wrapped up the last of summer by hitting up all the Thanksgiving point museums with our pass-Farm Country and Natural Curiosity museum. The kids traded in all the bugs and nature items they have been collecting at the trading post for geodes and other such treasures. We also had a "Stake Conference" for church at the huge LDS conference center in Salt Lake. It was fun to take the kids there as they have never been, but I can see why they usually do not invite kids under 8 yrs old! Emma stood up on my lap halfway through and belted out "I just want to go home!" really loud. Ha! Plus, there is no graceful way to take the kids out for a potty break because you are sitting in the middle of a row with 20 people on each side of you. We all survived and it was cool to be able to attend.

On the Wagon ride at Farm Country

The kids at the Natural Curiosity Museum

Outside the Conference Center

At the Conference Center

Emma loses her balloon at the customer appreciation day

Fancy face paint

We also hit up 7-11 for some Slurpees and went to a customer appreciation day for our dentist where we all got to get a little something at the food trucks, the kids were given balloons and had their faces painted. Poor Emma's balloon flew away right when I was taking this picture, but the girls kindly asked for a 2nd balloon for her.

Getting Slurpees from 7-11

The two older girls and I had the chance to attend "Seussical the Musical" at the local outdoor amphitheater and it was so much fun! The actors (primarily kids and teens) did a great job, the storyline was creative and fun and we had a great night out on the town!

Before Seussical Began!

One night for Family Night Activity we went up to the South Mountain Paragliding Park to see all of the para gliders and hang gliders land after an evening of "flying". On certain evenings, especially during the summer, you can see dozens of gliders up in the sky just south of us and it is so graceful looking! It was fun to see it up close. Kelsey and Josh were even able to join us.

We also braved the mall to do a bit of "back to school" shopping for the kids! And, to live it up right before school was back in session, we met up with my old roommate and her kids to go bowling. So fun to catch up with them!

Since Kelsey and Lillian are 1-day-apart birthday buddies they chose a trifle to have as their birthday cake after we hosted Sunday dinner at our house. For Lillian's actual birthday she had Breakfast in Bed then we met all the Otterstrom cousins for a fun day of swimming at Seven Peaks Waterpark. We had to rush back in the evening for swim lessons and dinner with the grandparents at our house so by the end of the day we were all super exhausted, but what a fun summer birthday!